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Benjamin Polack
Second Lieutenant Benjamin James Polack was an English officer of the British Army who died during the First World War. He was born in 1890, in Toxteth Park, the eldest son of Joseph, assistant minister at Princes Road Synagogue and later headmaster of Jewish House at Clifton College, and Sophia Polack (née Isaac), of Rochester and Liverpool, respectively. Polack received his education at Clifton, where he represented the institution in cricket and football, and continued his studies at King's College, at which he earned a second class in the modern languages tripos.The Times: "Fallen Officers". After the completion of his studies in 1913, Polack, considered the heir to his father,Edwards, Ruth Dudley (2012), Victor Gollancz: A Biography. was appointed Modern Languages Master at Battersea Grammar School. Soon after the declaration of war in 1914, Polack enlisted in the army, firstly entering the University and Public School Corps as a private. He secured a commission in the Worcestershire Regiment in January 1915 and joined its 9th Battalion at Gallipoli in September. Gallipoli proved to be a tumultuous and, ultimately, failed campaign, culminating in the evacuation of the beachheads in January 1916. Polack himself was reported by the Times to have been involved in the evacuations of both Helles and Suvla Bay. The Worcesters, with their division, withdrew to Egypt, where defensive positions were assumed along the Suez Canal. Thence, from February, the division began to transfer to the Mesopotamian theatre, to augment a relief force being formed to assist the beleaguered garrison of Kut-al-Amara.The 13th (Western) Division in 1914-1918, 1914-1918.net. Retrieved 26 August 2013. Aged 26, Polack died on 9 April 1916, in the advance on Sannaiyet during another abortive attempt to break the siege of Kut. The advance had commenced on the night of the 8th. In the ensuing maelstrom of fire unleashed by the Ottomans, confusion prevailed when the forward battalions, ravaged by shell and bullet, retreated in disarray into the supporting Worcesters and 9th Warwickshires. Repeated efforts were made to resume the advance, but the intensity of fire confounded each attempt. Casualties proved significant for the Worcesters, amounting to more than 100, including nine officers and 29 other ranks killed or missing.2nd Lieutenant Edgar Kinghorn MYLES V.C., D.S.O., worcestershireregiment.com. Retrieved 26 August 2013. Polack, who was engaged to Ruth Löwy, was posthumously mentioned in despatches in October.The London Gazette (29789), p. 10051, 19 October 1916. Retrieved 26 August 2013. A younger brother, Ernest, a lieutenant in the Gloucesters, died three months later, in July. Their surviving brother, Albert Isaac, served as a lieutenant in the Royal Engineers and succeeded his father at Clifton in 1928. His mother died in March 1918.The Times, Col G, p. 12: "Mr Albert Polack". 8 July 1982.The Times (46242), Col C, p. 14: "The Rev. Joseph Polack". 19 September 1932. He has no known grave and is commemorated by the Basra Memorial. Notes References *Ancestry.co.uk. *Polack, Benjamin James, cwgc.org. Retrieved 26 August 2013. Category:1890 births Category:1916 deaths Category:British military personnel Category:British Army Category:British people of Jewish descent Category:Burial Unknown Category:Basra Memorial Category:Second Lieutenants